name in the book, too.” Her voice getting louder.
“Shhh!” I said. “She might hear you.” I stood up and walked over to the door. With my back to it, I mirrored Charlie’s stance on the outside. “You just can’t make people suspects because you don’t like them.” I looked at Miss Vivee and then out the door at the woman.
“She’s so mild mannered,” I leaned toward Miss Vivee and lowered my voice. “Probably couldn’t hurt a fly.” I stood erect and put my ear to the door and tried to listen, just as I had at Oliver’s door that morning. I could hear Ron and Bay’s muffled conversation, but Charlotte’s crying was coming through the door clear as day. I walked over to the archway between the foyer and the dining room and turned so I could see out the door without it being too suspicious. Charlotte was visibly upset. She was tugging on the bottom of her blouse, her eyes red from the crying. I was guessing it was due to her learning about Oliver’s death. Couldn’t imagine her husband’s bad attitude did it, she had to be used to him. He seemed like a natural jerk.
“Look at her, Miss Vivee,” I said. “She’s so upset. No way she could have killed him and cry over it like she’s doing.”
“Those could be tears of guilt.” Miss Vivee glanced out of the window. “Some people do the deed and then are remorseful. Can’t say that about her husband. All he wants is to get his inheritance.” Miss Vivee glanced out the pane of glass on the door. “And what’s with all that crying?” She rolled her eyes. “Does she think she’s auditioning for a part in Steel Magnolias?” Miss Vivee shook her head. “She couldn’t have known Oliver well enough for her to be that upset. He would have told us. Looks like to me she’d do whatever that husband of hers told her to do.” Miss Vivee pointed a shaky finger at Ron who was animated. Jabbing his finger at Bay, his belly wiggling around like a bowl of Jello, Ron’s face got redder with each word. Then she dragged that finger my way.
“And you, Missy,” she said wagging that finger. “Better be careful of those two or you might find yourself face down in the Savannah River, too.
I came back and sat next to Miss Vivee. Maybe I could reason with her. “You don’t even know that Oliver was murdered.” I glanced over at her. “There were no clues this time before he died like with Gemma. You didn’t see him this morning, he might have been feeling bad.”
I remembered seeing him this morning, though. And he seemed fine. And in my opinion, even with the arguing, he didn’t seem upset enough for it to trigger a heart attack or stroke.
And then I thought about Renmar . . . She was there. And she did threaten to end his life. I looked at Miss Vivee flipping through the pages of her worn notebook. I shook my head. I wasn’t ready to share my snooping discovery with her just yet. Plus, I didn’t want to accuse my new boyfriend’s mother of something so heinous.
That definitely would not be good for the relationship.
I took in a breath. I had to get Miss Vivee’s mind off of murder.
I nodded my head toward the long lost cousins, “If they have their way – no autopsy – then we’ll never know the cause of death anyway. So I wouldn’t go fretting over it.”
“I’m not fretting.” She snorted. “I don’t fret.”
“I’m just saying you don’t have much to go on.”
“I didn’t need to see him alive, if that’s what you’re talking about. Seeing him dead was enough.”
“What did you see, Miss Vivee?”
“Oliver was poisoned. I’d be willing to bet my life on it.”
Oh, here we go again.
Chapter Nine
I headed out of my second floor room going to the kitchen to find something to snack on. With all that had happened that day, I’d forgotten to eat. I hadn’t wanted to stop to eat egg salad earlier when we had been on the Island.
Wow. This morning on the Island seemed so long ago, now.
And my fish.
I’d almost forgotten all about the fish.
I figured I’d get a bite and take it to my room while I tried to find out what kind of fish that was on the Island. The house was quiet. The Anderson’s had been long gone, and there were still a few stragglers